Kaylee get hired

Life, Career

Mal goes to ask Bester about "yet another delay". Not the most conventional of interviews, but...

Mal goes to ask Bester about "yet another delay" and finds him having sex with someone in the engine room. When Mal confronts him about this, Bester tells him that engines "make her hot," and that he can't get them back in the air again anyway, because the secondary grav boot is shot. The girl in question disagrees, even as she's putting her clothes back on; when Bester protests, she persists in her opinion, explaining that it's the reg couple that's bad, and not only points it out for both of them, but fixes it on the spot herself. Impressed by her talent, Mal immediately offers her a job on the ship for as long as she can keep her in the sky. The girl excitedly goes off to ask her folks for permission, and Bester asks Mal what he needs two mechanics for--to which he says that he really doesn't.   ["Out of Gas." These events are shown in flashback. The specific date is somewhat arbitrary, as the shooting script for the episode only offers that this was "in a different time," but assumes that Kaylee was old enough that her parents would allow her to head off on her own.]   Bester is kicked off Serenity, while the girl obtains permission from her parents to accept Mal's offer of employment as the ship's mechanic. Mal quickly learns that her name is Kaylee Frye.   ["Out of Gas." These events are implied by the flashback and by the fact that Kaylee is indeed the ship's mechanic from this point forward.]   Kaylee paints a floral pattern all around the dining room of Serenity.   [Firefly website. In an interview on the site, executive producer Tim Minear gave this as the contextual answer to who painted the flowers in the first place. The timing is conjecture, and assumes that she did this soon after becoming one of the crew.]